The Next Generation: The Chosen One
by Withearstoseeandeyestohear
Summary: The Titans are on the rise again and the prophecy of the Chosen One has been given, but this time the old heroes will let the next generation of demigods, the most powerful yet, to take the limelight, led by the gods' twins and the Chosen One, and now, they expect her to save us all. Old characters still in the story but their kids are the main characters.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own anything**

People say a lot of things, a lot of which I find not to be true, but I suppose there is one thing with which I can agree: No one is perfect, not even the gods. I have come across many mortals, creatures, demigods, beasts, and gods since I was thirteen and Silas instructed me that writing in a journal every day decreases the effects of ADHD. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure he was lying about that effects thing, but anyway, in all my travels and adventures I have found not one single perfect person, in a loose sense of the word, in any realm. And while I do wholeheartedly believe that no one and nothing is perfect, I do entirely disagree with the common belief that there are limits and impossibilities that cannot be grasped or accomplished. For some people, there is no impossible but only boundless possibility. My journal is an account of boundlessness. I am Lexi Kayin Elita Jeanelle Simmons. I am impossible.

The story really began far before I was born, along with the legends that preceded it and the great heroes that created the next generation of demigods. I only know these parts because Apollo has filled me in since.

****19 years ago****

"Master Zeus! Master Zeus!" called a wind spirit, flying into gods' throne room and disrupting their Winter Solstice meeting.

"What? What is so important that you had to interrupt us during one of our most important meetings of the year?" Zeus questioned threateningly, his voice thundering with authority.

The wind spirit shrank back slightly and stuttered our nervously, "The girl... the mortal girl... the artist girl... the one at Camp Half-Blood... the one with frizzy red hair... his Oracle," he pointed at Apollo.

"Yes, I know the girl, now spit it out already," commanded Zeus.

"She-she-she saw...a vision...a prophecy-"

"And you felt the need to tell me this why? The girl has visions all the time," questioned an irritated Zeus.

"This one is important; it's big, really big, enormous big."

"Bigger than the Great Prophecy?"

"Way," stated the wind spirit.

"Fine, you have my attention; now, tell me what the prophecy says," sighed Zeus."

The wind spirit looked up in thought for a moment, remembering the exact words, and then started,

"_Old heroes have had their chance, _

_Next generation comes to pass,_

_Twenty children of thirty strong,_

_Shall lead the others away from wrong,_

_Await the Titan rise once more, _

_Preparations must be made for war,_

_Though most powerful and ready stand, _

_Half-Bloods fail without a helping hand,_

_Chosen one and protectors of man,_

_The gods' twins created for a plan,_

_Still titans succeed lest all give in, _

_Lose morals and innocence to win,_

_Two lovers vying for one girl's heart,_

_Needed teamwork is hard on a rival's part_

_Old heroes lost to sacrifice and death, _

_An oath broken with a friend's final breath,_

_A losing battle, on the twins' day,_

_One choice can make it all go away, _

_Hatred and sadness cloud chosen one's soul, _

_Fate of the world decided by her role._"

Silence filled the throne room as the wind spirit's solemn words set in.

Finally Apollo spoke to break the trance, "Well, aren't you just a chariot full of sunshine coming to brighten everyone's day!" He looked around, waiting for someone to get his joke. Athena simply rolled her at what she thought of as his inferior wisdom. "Do you get it?," Apollo asked the gods, "I'm the sun god and I drive my chariot to bring up the sun and brighten the day for everyone!" None of the other gods or goddesses seemed to find his joke funny, and Artemis said, "Stupid men," as many of the other goddesses nodded in agreement.

"Hey! I'm your brother!"

"And that makes you any less stupid why?"

"She has a good point there," stated Demeter.

"No she doesn't!" retorted Hermes.

"You're just disagreeing with Demeter because you two are still mad about Aphrodite setting Katie and Travis and Connor and Miranda up," pointed out Athena.

"Like you should talk, Wise Girl, oh sorry, isn't that what my son calls Annabeth?" teased Poseidon.

"I know, aren't their nicknames for each other just so cute!" gushed Aphrodite.

"Oh yeah, just about as cute as Nico and Clarisse making out in my sight at camp all the time," stated Dionysus sarcastically.

"Are you asking me to punch you in the face?" asked Ares, at the same time as Hades said, "Well, at least he isn't going after that daughter of Zeus anymore."

"What's wrong with my daughter?" thundered Zeus.

"She came from one of your affairs with a mortal!" shouted Hera.

"Shut up! Nobody likes you!" exclaimed Hephaestus.

"I'm not the one who got thrown off of Olympus."

"You're the only one who threw me off!"

"He actually has a good point," pointed out Athena.

"Sis, just shut up; no one wants to hear your stupid words of wisdom," stated Ares.

"At least she has some, unlike you," retorted Demeter.

"Nobody asked you!" shouted Hermes.

"But us women need to stick together against you lesser men," argued Artemis.

"Sis, you're the only virgin in the room," pointed out Apollo.

"Athena is too," Aphrodite stated sadly.

"No, she's been mind-fucked," argued Dionysus.

"You would know," said Poseidon childishly.

"How else would she have kids, idiot?" asked Zeus.

"Well at least she gets it in some way," said Hera pointedly.

"Nobody cares about whiny gods like you," stated Hades.

"Like you should talk!" exclaimed Hephaestus.

"Shut up, cripple!" yelled Ares.

The wind spirit, who had been standing around helplessly the whole time, tried clearing his throat to get their attention, but to no avail. He tried a few more times, and even tried addressing the group, but none of the gods or goddesses acknowledged him. Finally, he clambered atop Zeus' throne and whistled loudly, and succeeded in getting their attention. Some of them looked at him as if they were about to slaughter him, and the wind spirit turned a light shade of red. "Umm... well... I think your lordships should stop arguing and try to figure out the prophecy," he said meekly. Grudging acceptance was heard throughout the room and the gods and goddesses returned their seats upon their thrones, and began to contemplate the Prophecy of the Chosen One.

****14 years ago****

Athena opened the doors to Zeus' private business room, and walked over to where the king of the gods was standing. "Father, you wanted to see me?"

"How long has it been since the Prophecy of the Chosen One was issued?"

"Five years, two months, and thirteen days; why, Father?"

"For five years, two months, and thirteen days, the Titans have been growing stronger as our heroes grow fewer and lesser in skill due to the lack of monster attacks and the increase of demigods leading regular lives. Soon, I fear our forces will not be strong enough to defeat them, and Olympus will fall."

"Yes, I have seen the same issue happening, but Father, what should we do about it?"

"We must find out if the prophecy has begun."

"Then we must visit the Oracle of Camp Half-Blood, Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"You go, seek her out, find her, and learn whether the Prophecy of the Chosen One has started," commanded Zeus.

"There's no need for that; I can tell you the answer right now," said Apollo, appearing from the shadows, "Plus, you won't find her there anyway; she's run off with that son of Hephaestus, Leo Valdez, to have a mortal life. They've completely dropped off the grid."

Zeus and Athena jumped, "How long have you been here?"

"Since I heard my Oracle's name mentioned."

"Oh, so...?" asked Zeus.

"So what?" questioned Apollo; then after a short pause he added, "I'm still a rock star, got my rock moves, I don't need you, and guess what, I'm having more fun, now that we're done-"

"Apollo!" scolded Athena, "Has the prophecy started?"

"That news is, like, so five years ago," he said, imitating Aphrodite's voice.

"What! You never told anyone that it started!" screeched Athena.

"I distinctly remember telling someone... hmm... who was it... oh, I told Artemis."

"And you didn't think to tell anyone else these past five years?"

"I forgot."

"Of course you did."

Zeus, who had been quietly thinking throughout their conversation, finally asked, "How would we go about creating the gods' twins?"

"In the context of the prophecy, I believe it is talking about twin children of the gods, and not twins of the gods, so I would suggest getting all of the Olympian gods and goddesses, even the minor ones, together and somehow create twin children," stated Apollo.

"Who would become impregnated with the children then?" asked Zeus.

Apollo shrugged, but a light bulb seemingly went off in Athena's head as she brightened, then said, I have an idea; all of the gods and goddesses, major and minor, would get together and combine essences of their powers into two orbs of life force and then take the two orbs and place them inside of the womb of an already pregnant woman, thus causing the baby to be one of the 'gods' twins'. Then, we would have both women give birth on the same day at the same time, fully creating the idea of twins, only by different human parents."

"Who would the parents be?" asked Apollo.

"The parents of the prospectively two greatest demigods ever should be the two greatest demigod couples at this point in time," stated Zeus, "which, in my opinion, would be my son, Jason, and his wife Piper, and Percy and Annabeth. Do either of you disagree?"

"No, I think that's exactly what we should do," said Apollo.

"This is a dangerous decision, for as the children would be the most powerful demigods ever, if one, or both, of them was to turn evil, we would be in an even worse situation than we are now. But if we keep a careful watch over them and teach them ourselves in the ways of good, we should be able to avoid that problem. Therefore, I do agree that it is the wisest choice," concluded Athena.

"Then let us go announce our decision," said Zeus.

"You two go ahead; I have some business to take care of first," Apollo said as he exited out of Zeus' private room from the other side than Zeus and Athena. Morphing into a common wind spirit messenger, Apollo sped through Olympus unnoticed as he made his way to his secret childhood hiding spot. Coming close to his magical tree house, Apollo noticed an aura sitting idly by the tree. Not wanting to give away his identity, Apollo used his secret greeting, "Excuse me, would you happen to know where I might be able to find Lord Zeus?"

"Have you tried your mother's bed?" the aura correctly replied back.

Apollo continued, "Would that not, then, be the same place as your mother's bed?"

"Only if you are indeed my sunshine."

"I may be, but only if you are the inconstant moon spoketh of by Sir Romeo and his Juliet."

"I may be too, so no adieu?"

"Nay, my lady; now let us converse more in private, " said Apollo, using his powers to reveal a secret ladder leading up into invisible air above the tree. "Sisters first?" he said, motioned her forward.

The two climbed up and entered the invisible treehouse, and they themselves became invisible too.

Once safely in the treehouse, both revoked their guises to reveal what they had both already known, twin siblings.

"Apollo, Dominic has run away; his father tried to stop him, but a mortal cannot stop a demigod, especially one as powerful as Dominic. I did place a blessing on him, though, to keep him safe because he is only four years old."

"Don't worry, I'll send messengers to secretly check up on him frequently."

"Thank you; he means so much to me. How many other powerful children have been born?"

Apollo shifted nervously, "Well, it seems like I may have forgotten to tell everyone, except for you, when the prophecy started, so everyone else is... kinda... finding out right now."

"What!"

"Umm... yeah..."

"You're telling me that I started five years before everyone else. Once people find out, it will ruin my reputation!"

"Then don't tell anyone; let's just keep it between you and me... and his father."

"But if I don't then I will be forced to do it again when everybody else does."

"Then just do that and leave Dominic as a lone wanderer, and no one will ever find out about him, so you will still have your reputation," reasoned Apollo.

Artemis reasoned for a few moments and then conceded, "Fine, but if you ever tell anyone what happened, then I swear, brother, that I will kick your ass, which you know I can, all the way to Tartarus."

Apollo chuckled and agreed, "I swear on the River Styx that I will never tell anyone about Dominic, unless by your permission, or so help me you will kick me to Tartarus."

Artemis nodded, satisfied with his answer.

"Come on, sis, we should go join the others for Zeus' announcement."

Both deities morphed back to their guises, and departed separately from Apollo's tree house. Once they had each traveled a suitable distance, Apollo and Artemis changed back to their normal godly selves and went to the emergency assembly of the gods called by Zeus. Having come late, they had missed the first part of the meeting and had come in just as Zeus was saying, "The prophecy requires that every god... or goddess... must have an affair with a mortal. In doing so, you must give enough power to the child in order to make them the strongest and most powerful demigod you have ever created. Following this, all gods and goddesses, major and minor, will join their powers together to create two orbs of extreme power, which we will then place in two pregnant women demigods, Piper Grace and Annabeth Jackson. These two demigods will then give birth to the two most powerful demigod 'twins' that have ever existed, one Greek and one Roman. These measures are to be taken in order to protect against the growing Titan force and combat the decreasing number of skilled demigods at our training camps. There are no exceptions to this command; even virgin goddesses must contribute to the building of this demigod force, but will still be considered virgin afterwards as their affairs will be had for necessity and not lack of chastity. No questions; now everyone get to work creating the most powerful batch of demigods ever."

While some uproar did ensue, the room was quickly emptied of occupants save Artemis and Apollo, who remained behind to talk further. "As for Dominic, retain no contact with him if you wish no one to know of his birthing. I shall keep watch over him for now, and in time, I shall send my daughter Tracie, who I birthed at the early start of the prophecy when you birthed Dominic, to retrieve him and bring him to Percy Jackson as an adopted son. All shall work itself out in due time, sister; do not fret," comforted Apollo.

"Thank you, brother." And with that, the room was empty.


	2. Chapter 2

*****Approximately 1 year later*****

"Rise and shine, folks, today's the big day! The twins are finally coming!" shouted Apollo.

"Piper and Annabeth are currently en route to their individual hospitals in Los Angeles and Orlando, respectively," confirmed the messenger, Hermes.

"After the children are born we'll bring them all up here for a party, so I can meet my grandchild," said Poseidon.

"Party? Where? I'll bring the alcohol!" exclaimed a just woken up Dionysus.

*****Meanwhile in L.A. *****

"Isn't she just adorable!" Piper excitedly exclaimed to Jason.

"She's ravishing just like her mother," said Jason sweetly.

"What will you name her?" prompted the doctor.

"Kaila Lara Rae Grace," Piper and Jason replied together, "A powerful name for a powerful child."

"All right, well I'll just take her to get cleaned up and checked up on in the doctor room. We'll be back shortly," explained the doctor as he took Kaila from Piper to the other room to make sure she was healthy and clean her up. He placed Kaila, with her hospital identification wristband on, in one of the newborn baby holders next to another just born baby girl and walked to the other side of the room in order to pick up his equipment. This, unfortunately, meant his back was turned to the baby girls and the Titaness who had just appeared in the room. Invisible to the eyes of mortals like the doctor, the Titaness of fertility and motherhood, Rhea, worked her evils to disrupt the plan of the gods and turn their own creation against them. Picking up the two newborn girls, Rhea quickly switched them in their beds, along with switching the hospital bracelets on each of their wrists, all while the doctor was turned away. Using the charm the Titan of trickery and deception, Dolos, had given her to block Kaila's godly aura, Rhea confirmed that Kaila would not be able to be detected by the gods. Disappearing as quickly as she had come, Rhea had vanished before the doctor had turned back to the girl infants. After the doctor finished his check-ups on the two girls, he returned them, switched, to their unknowing parents: Kaila to the mortal parents and the other girl, named Lexi Kayin Elita Jeanelle Simmons, to Piper and Jason Grace.

Celebration was had as Piper, Jason, Percy, and Annabeth arrived on Mount Olympus with their newborns, Sean Alec Bane Jackson and Kaila Lara Rae Grace, who, unbeknownst to all, was really just a mortal infant. While the infants did belong to their demigod parents, they were to be raised on Mount Olympus and instructed constantly in the ways of the gods.

*****Meanwhile in mortal-land*****

Anthony and Nicole Simmons elatedly brought home their third child, Lexi, and introduced her to their two other children: Courtney, age five, and Tyler, age three. Their mortal family was now complete and happy in the city of Los Angeles, California. When, on her first night home, Lexi cried not once and slept peacefully throughout the night, Anthony knew she was special in some way. A week later, he was called to work an emergency operation for his secret government job, which was entirely classified, even to his wife Nicole. Anthony left on a rainy, Wednesday evening, promising to buy Courtney the pony she wanted upon his return. Anthony never returned to find out what made Lexi special, or to buy Courtney a pony, or to see Tyler off to youth basketball camp. Weeks turned to months, and months to years, as no word ever came to Nicole of Anthony's whereabouts. Eventually, Nicole stopped worrying for Anthony, assumed he had found a new life with a new wife, and began to worry about the broken family that remained, knowing that with three young children, the oldest of which was eight, she must remarry in order to keep her family together. This is when a man nicknamed Lit became Lexi's stepfather at her young age of three. This stoic, unemotional man had the available money to support their broken family, though he did relocate them from sunny Los Angeles to the snowy city of brotherly love: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lit was a mysterious man, for none of the children knew his real name, and due to his incessantly serious state, he won no favor with the children and did not much interact with them either. Years passed and the elder siblings began to view Lit more highly than before, but Lexi disliked Lit more and more and time progressed, for she blamed him for attempting to replace her real father, although she secretly believed there was something treacherous about this mysterious man. When Lexi was eight, she first revealed her suspicions of Lit to her sister, Courtney, who scoffed at her and belittled her fears of Lit's real nature. Setting aside the topic to not be brought up again in front of others, Lexi was surprised when, at age ten, her class began to study Greek mythology and a character named Lityerses, whose name was commonly shortened to Lit, was mentioned. Curious, Lexi inquired more as to the nature of this character who her teacher informed her was the reaper of men. After researching all she could, Lexi was convinced Lit was the Greek mythological monster who reaped, or killed, men. The only problem: Lityerses was an ancient, Greek figure, and would be dead by this time, unless he was similar to many of the other characters in Greek mythology that were immortal. Could her mother really be married to an immortal murderer? Lexi brought up the conversation at dinner and accused Lit of this. While her family burst out laughing at her silly claim, Lit laughed nervously and glared at her, causing Lexi to, after this occurrence, believe wholeheartedly in the idea that her stepfather, Lit, was an immortal, Greek mythological reaper of men. While unnoticed by the rest of the family, both Lexi and Lit were then wary of each other and did not once speak again after that evening.

*****Lexi is 13*****

Maybe there was room for improvement in her home life, especially in the area of Lit, but currently her school life was falling apart. Her best friend Jacob Reed had left her. Jacob, his father, Silas, and his sister, Jessica, had moved in next door to Lexi's family the day after Lit had relocated them to Philadelphia. Jacob and Silas had a strange condition with their legs that caused them to require crutches for their entire lives. Jake, who was the same age as Lexi, was the only preschooler who used crutches, and kids made fun of him for it constantly. Lexi stood up for him, though, because that's what Courtney said their father would want her to do. Due to her protection of Jacob, the other children stopped picking on him, and Lexi gained him as her best friend, though she lost the chance to be popular and have many friends because of this. This situation had always been fine with Lexi, as her and Jacob were best friends forever and family, like brother and sister. That is, until Jared came calling for Jake. Jared was the most popular boy in school and he knew it. All the kids adored him and thought he was downright amazing because he was both smart and athletic despite having ADHD and dyslexia. Not that Lexi didn't have the same problems or succeed too, but no one noticed. Except Jacob. Together they had made fun of Jared, called him names, and guessed why anyone would want to be friends with someone as rude and arrogant as him. But now, Jared had suddenly deemed Jake as "cool" and had drawn him into his group of popular friends. Jake had followed like a drooling puppy, breaking his promise to Lexi and leaving her alone, with no other friends due to her friendship with Jacob. No one understood how lonely and broken she felt sitting alone in the corner at lunch that week. No one looked at her or even acknowledged her existence. But the next week, three of the people who had been a part of Jared's popular group sat with Lexi at lunch. She was puzzled as to their choice to sit with her, but they replied with nothing other than Jared was getting a little too cocky and that she seemed like a nice person from how Jake described her. Lexi was wary of these newcomers at first, but eventually was grateful for their company, and, as time passed, they became her close friends. These three friends were going to change her life, and Lexi was sure of it. The three were Reyna, her twin brother, Jaedon, and her best friend, Arielle. Though Reyna and Jaedon were twins, they looked nothing alike. Reyna was of average height and had silver eyes and medium-length, straight blonde hair the color of moonlight. Jaedon, on the other hand, was tall and had curly, reddish brown hair like the last embers of a dying fire, and turquoise eyes with orange and pink flecks in them. The strange colors of their eyes made Lexi realize that other people had unusual eyes too, and it wasn't just herself. Still, she decided, she would not remove her blue colored contacts that she had worn since children had begun teasing her in first grade regarding her eye color. No one would ever see the kaleidoscope eyes hidden behind the blue contact lenses, not even these new friends. For past popular kids, the three of them were pretty down to earth. As the weeks went by, more of Jared's old friends joined their little group, until Lexi had more friends than she'd ever dreamed of. Her closest friends remained Reyna, Arielle, and Jaedon, but other faces, Selena, Carmody, Victoria, Tony, Sabrina, Nathan, Aubrey, Elliot, Arabella, and Gabriella, were now there as well. Lexi felt that these friends were extraordinary in more ways than one, and was grateful that they had shown up when she needed friendship most, though these friends had no answer for why they decided to sit with her, and would only exchange knowing glances with each other. For the first time, Lexi thought she might have felt more than friendship as her feelings developed for the boy, Elliot, with his dark hair and mysterious personality. These feelings developed into a full-fledged crush, which remained unnoticed by all but Reyna and Jaedon, though Reyna wasn't much involved as her and Arielle's class went on a trip to Washington D.C. for two weeks. Thus, that left Jaedon for Lexi to hang out with and talk about Elliot to. Jaedon was also the first to know when Lexi found out that Elliot was moving away. Elliot had also spoken to Lexi and explained that they were meant to be stay close in some way, but that Lexi could not yet understand. This confused both Lexi and Jaedon, neither of whom understood what Elliot had meant at the time. Lexi went over to Jaedon and Reyna's house that evening, though Reyna wasn't home, and Jaedon tried to "comfort" her, unsuccessfully, until Lexi explained that she didn't need comfort but rather she needed fun. So, the two played games, watched movies, and enjoyed themselves all night. At one point, for laughs, they watched Lilo & Stitch, promising to each other, along with the movie, "O'hana. O'hana means family and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten". And from that moment, as thy promised and hugged each other, Jaedon and Lexi were no longer good friends, but family that would do anything for one another. It was also at this moment that Jaedon realized he might just love Lexi, though only time would time. His parents, on the other hand, had their doubts about this new friend of his. Their names were Leo and Rachel, who had insisted Lexi call her RED based on the initials of her maiden name, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Valdez. Lexi felt as if Leo and Rachel were analyzing her and her every moment and word, though for what reason, she could not understand. Again, only time could explain these things, though if only Leo had seen Lexi's familiar kaleidoscope eyes, he might have understood who she was and his cautiousness would have paid off.

*****Meanwhile on Mount Olympus *****

The gods had always hoped that Kaila was simply a late bloomer or needed extra attention in channeling her powers. They would never accept that something they had created to be so powerful could end up a dud, but Kaila should have been radiating power by now, yet she seemed so simple, so mortal compared to Sean, who seemed to have grasped the full extent of his powers. Thus, in order to figure out any possible occurrences that may have complicated Kaila's development, the gods decided to sift through her past for any sign of issue. This issue did not take them long to find as the gods began search at the day of her birth, though it did present an intriguing problem. As Kaila's features looked different, including her eyes, after coming back from the doctor's room, the gods concluded, with much help from Athena, that Kaila must have been switched. But with who? This they did not know, though they intended to find out and bring the real Kaila home. This would be accomplished by first visiting Los Angeles, as this is where Kaila was born, and searching the hospital records for all baby girls born that day, March 25. Satyrs would then be sent on the trail of all the baby girls, even those that had moved away. This process would then be continued until the real Kaila was found and brought back to Olympus. Fortunately, the hospital where Kaila was born had been a small one, and there were only twelve baby girls other than her born there on March 25 thirteen years ago. The eleven available satyrs at the time, including Grover and Juniper Underwood's son Oliver, were each set on the track of a different baby, with Sean, Kaila's "twin" and Percy's and Annabeth's son, following the twelfth baby girl's trail. This trail would lead him to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he hoped monsters did not await him.


	3. Chapter 3

**I changed the locations of the camps for future plans I have for the story. Camp Half-Blood is in Orlando, Florida, and Camp Jupiter in in Los Angeles, California. Mount Olympus is still in the Empire State Building. **

*****Back in Philadelphia (now in the present) *****

It was now the summer before Lexi would enter high school, and so far she had spent it well with her new friends. Now that she and Jake no longer spent time together, Lexi never saw his father, Silas, or his sister, Jessica, anymore. So one day, she walked over to the house next door in order to have tea and talk time with Silas like she used to. Things began just as usual, but throughout the conversation Silas seemed to be mulling in a world of his own until Lexi stopped and inquired as to where his mind was.

Silas replied, "I know you think Jake abandoned you as his friend, but he has a job to do, which includes staying close to Jared. I'm sorry that I cannot tell you about this duty of his anymore than he can, but let's just say Jake's not as crippled as you think. He has an interesting set of skills that are useful for Jared and his safety. We thought they would be useful for you, but there has still been no sign of this, even with you past your time".

"Uh, Silas, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Silas began muttering more to himself than to Lexi, "No, no, I suppose you wouldn't. Something seems to be brewing. Maybe a break. Leave," when he remembered her presence and spoke to her, "Your family ought to get out of town. Maybe take a vacation? Get some quality, family bonding time. I'll go speak to your mother about it right away." With that, Silas got up and walked out of the house, leaving Lexi to stare agape at where he had been sitting, as she had no idea what he was rambling on about. Five minutes later he came back smiling, "It's all arranged. Your ship takes off tomorrow."

"Uh, Silas, what ship is this?"

"Your cruise ship. Your family is going to take a cruise through the Caribbean. Your plane leaves late tonight, so you had better get home and start packing." And with that he led Lexi to the door and sent her off, still quite confused, to her own house.

*****Aboard the boat*****

Lexi and her brother, Tyler, were still in the proper age group to be allowed into the ship's teen room, though Courtney was too old and, thus, spent her time relaxing and roaming the ship with their mother. Upon entering the teen fun room, Lexi and Tyler split to find people their own age. Lexi soon found a group of what looked to be a group of about-to-be high school freshman at the pool table, and joined them. Among the many names, she remembered a girl named Lucinda, who went by Lucy, and a boy named Samuel, who went by Sam, the best. After the pool game, the three, Lexi, Lucy, and Sam, split off from the others and wandered the ship while talking and getting to know one another. Though they seemed nice enough, Lexi thought both Sam and Lucy seemed a tad odd in their own ways. Lexi thought perhaps she could just be over analyzing the two until Lucy began to complain of the heat, and a handheld paper fan appeared on the deck railing out of nowhere. Lexi was sure it had not been there before, and that something was most definitely out of place. Sam kept complaining of hunger, but turned down every offer Lexi gave until she finally asked, exasperated, what he did like. At this point, his eyes turn blood red and his voice turned malicious as he answered, "Meat. Bloody, fresh meat." Lexi was now thoroughly creeped out by her two companions, but continued to walk with them as if nothing was wrong. That is, until things did begin to go wrong. First, apparently Sam couldn't take the hunger anymore, for he abruptly bit down on Lucy's arm, causing her to shriek and shoot a blast of light at his head, causing his hair to catch fire, which he put out by jumping into one of the many pools on the deck. As Lexi looked around from this scene their group was making, she expected everyone else on the deck to be watching as well, but no one seemed to have noticed anything amiss.

Lexi turned back as she heard Lucinda shout, "Curse you, you bloodsucking fiend! You have bitten me in your failure of self-control. But no matter, for I shall hex you and give you the same fate as you have bestowed upon me!" Lexi had no idea what this meant, but she was now 100% positive that Lucy and Sam were definitely not normal humans. Lucy had begun chanting something and pointing a stick, no, a wand, at Sam threatening as he emerged from the pool, razor sharp teeth flashing in the sunlight. An epic battle was about to go down and no one else on the ship had even noticed. A black flash emanated from Lucy's wand, hitting Sam square in the chest. As he fell backward onto the ground, Lucy stood over him. "That was payback for biting me, vampire," she spat.

"Now we both die you idiot witch," returned Sam as Lucy fell down next to him.

Lexi finally got the courage to get close to them, and sat between them, asking, "What was that? Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Neither answered fully but Lucy started, "We are magical, as you must be if you saw what occurred. I am a witch."

"And I am a vampire," continued Sam, "We cannot coexist peacefully like you children of the gods now can".

More confused than ever, Lexi tried to speak again, but was cut off by Sam and Lucy speaking in unison mechanically, as if by command, "Godly girl, to you we shall transfer our powers, as we can see you will have great need of them in the future, for maybe you can bring our races together, and save us all. Your quest will be harder than any other, dear Daughter of Kindness, for surely you must be the Chosen One". And with that, purple and black smoke began to pour out of their mouths, clouding the trio and blinding Lexi. The smoke seeped into her pores, and once it completely disappeared and Lexi could again see, the girl and boy that had been lying on either side of her had disappeared as well, leaving Lexi very confused and kneeling on the ship's deck alone.

Their vacation over, the Simmons family returned home, whereupon Lexi immediately ran next door to Silas' house and knocked urgently. If anyone could understand and explain what had happened, it would be him. Unfortunately, it was Jake who opened the door. "Hey Lexi," he said awkwardly.

"Hi Jake," Lexi paused, "Is your dad home?"

"Oh, yeah, he's in the living room," Jake replied as he stepped away from the door, allowing Lexi to step inside.

"Thanks," she replied, hurrying into the living room.

"Hello, Lexi, how was your trip?" Silas asked as Lexi appeared in the living room.

"That's actually what I'm here to talk to you about. It sounds kind of weird, but I figured you wouldn't make fun of me."

"Of course not," said Silas, "Go head. Tell me."

"Well I think I met a vampire and a witch," Lexi began as she narrated the entire story of her voyage to Silas.

At the end, he looked around worriedly, "Have you told this to anyone else?" he asked.

"No."

"Good, don't. Look, I cannot tell you everything, but I will tell you as much as I can. They called you a 'godly girl', thus, of the gods, meaning the Greek gods, which was just as I had always expected since I felt compelled to move here, and especially after seeing your eyes. But the words they threw around are dangerous, as I believe you may be more important than most. I fear you may be what Raine died trying to hide."

"Raine? Who's Raine?" asked Lexi.

"You wouldn't remember, of course, but she was my wife. She told me she knew a secret about the girl the gods had, but that she couldn't tell anyone because the real girl needed to live a human life until it was time, so that this girl could be brought up with a set of proper and caring morals. The day we moved here and went to meet your family and Raine saw your kaleidoscope eyes, she paled. I meant to ask her why, but she had to run errands and I had to take Jake to the doctor's office, so I never got the chance. Raine never came home that night, but a letter did find its way to our house, a letter from Raine warning me to 'Never let them get her'. That was all that was written. Now, I know you're confused, but let me explain further, for I fear it will soon be your time. I am not a human, nor are my children. I am a satyr, sworn to protect the demigods, those half-mortal and half-god, of the world. Jake is also a satyr. Jessica is a dryad, a girl of the trees, as was my wife, Raine. Jake began becoming close to Jared when he found out that Jared was a demigod, and an extra-powerful one at that, being the son of both Ares and Nemesis, with which I know you are familiar thanks to your interest in Greek mythology. Besides children of the gods, there are other mythical creatures that exist, for example, satyrs, dryads, vampires, and witches, all of which you have met. If what those two, Lucy and Sam, said was true, then you now have the power of witches and vampires within you. This is useful, but can attract more attention than a hidden demigod like you might like. You're not like other demigods, that I know, but I do not know what makes you different. But, aside from the powers, you are still you, and you should live as such. Do not act differently. Try out your powers only in private. Don't let Lit catch you, as you were right, he is the Reaper of Men and he doesn't particularly like demigods-"

"I knew it!" exclaimed Lexi.

"Yes, and don't tell anyone about the conversation we just had, not even my own children. And, if you ever find yourself being pursued by monsters or in grave danger, there is a camp in Los Angeles that can help you. I'm not particularly fond of the place due to bad memories, but it serves its purpose well. It is called Camp Half-Blood. Once you are in its borders you are safe from all harm, except for that from the gods or other demigods. Finally, never let anyone see your eyes. Raine saw them, and she was frightened. I believe she was afraid for you, that you might be the girl she was referring too. Always keep your real eyes covered. That is all."

Lexi bit her lip, feeling unsure of herself, "All right. Thank you, Silas, for everything."

"Don't worry Lex, you'll be fine," promised Silas. Lexi nodded and walked out the door, back to her own house.


	4. Chapter 4

The Saturday before the first day of school was Carmody's, one of the friends that had begun sitting with Lexi last year, end of summer party. Carmody apparently had a large home, because she had invited over a hundred people from their grade. Lexi's biggest shock, though, was ringing the door bell and finding the door opened by Jared, who was a grade older than them. After a moment of awkward staring, Carmody appeared behind Jared, "Let her in, Jared she's here for the party," and then, turning to Lexi, "You've met my brother before right?"

"You-you guys are related?" Lexi sputtered.

"Of course," exclaimed Carmody, "You didn't think to connect the fact that we're both di Angelo's?" The truth was that Lexi had never really thought to connect a goth-looking nice girl with an evil brute like Jared. At least other people showing up distracted Carmody's attention from Lexi, who wandered through the crowd looking for Reyna, Jaedon, or Arielle, that is, until she crashed into a boy she'd never seen before.

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry I was spacing. I didn't see you there..."

"Sean; my name is Sean. I'm new here. I'm...uh...Carmody's and Jared's cousin. I'm living with them this school year," he explained.

"Okay," Lexi said, not really convinced that he was really Carmody's cousin. He didn't sound convinced of it himself, plus he looked nothing like either Carmody or Jared with his short-cropped, raven black hair and eyes that seemed to switch between grey and turquoise, never fully deciding on either one. After awkward silence filled the air, Lexi decided to continue searching for her close friends, "Well, I'm looking for someone, so I'll see you around".

As she began to walk away, he called, "You too, Lexi". As she kept walking, Lexi saw no sign of her best friends, but did notice two adults standing off to the side. Taking in the man's pale and goth appearance and the woman's "I'll beat you up if you come near me" expression, Lexi supposed these were the parents of Jared and Carmody. After introducing herself to them, Lexi found that their names were Nico and Clarisse di Angelo. In order to keep the conversation going, Lexi remarked, "You sure are brave parents to allow a hundred teenagers into your home, and kind to allow your nephew to live with you".

At this, Nico blanched, turning paler than he already was, and inspected Lexi more closely, frowning as if there were something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Giving up, he replied cautiously, "Yes, I suppose we are. Thank you."

Not everyone appreciated waking up on the first day of school, but Lexi did. School was her sanctuary, or at least, the classrooms were. Even with ADHD and dyslexia, Lexi excelled in school and was eager to arrive there every day. Plus, she had a large group of friends now to spend her time outside of the classroom with. After picking up her class schedule, chatting with Jaedon and Reyna, and hearing the first bell, Lexi made her way to her first period class, choosing a seat near the front of the classroom. While taking out her books and supplies, Lexi was oblivious to the swarm of students entering the math room, that is, until a hand was placed palm up on her desk.

"Hey, uh, could I borrow a pencil?" its owner asked nervously.

Lexi looked up to the person's face. It was Sean. "Who doesn't bring a pencil to school?" she whispered furiously.

"I'm kind of new to this whole school thing," he admitted sheepishly.

"Homeschooled?"

"Something like that," Sean admitted, smirking at her. At that point, though, the final bell rang and the teacher began talking incessantly for the remainder of the hour.

As the bell signaling the end of first period rang, Lexi turned to Sean, "What class do you have next?"

"English."

"Same. Let's walk together," Lexi instructed, while studying the rest of his schedule.

"Find anything interesting, Miss Nosy?" Sean inquired sarcastically. "Why yes, actually, we seem to have five classes the same and I learned your last name is Jackson," Lexi retorted.

"Well, Miss Nosy-"

"Don't call me that."

"Fine. Well, we seem to be at a disadvantage now don't we? You know more about me than I know about you. Let's change that," guided Sean.

"No thanks; I like to retain an aura of mystery," Lexi replied as they entered one of the freshman English classrooms and found, to their dismay, that the teacher had assigned a seating chart. To Lexi's delight, though, a familiar face was assigned to the seat behind.

"Hey, Lex, miss me?" asked Jaedon jokingly while pulling lightly on Lexi's ponytail.

"Don't I always?" replied Lexi lightly.

The period continued on that way until the bell rang for break. Lexi and Jaedon began to walk out together to meet their group of friends when Sean called, "Lexi? Do you - would you mind if I sat with you and your friends?"

"Of course not, Sean," Lexi replied as Jaedon glared at Sean and sized him up, unnoticed by Lexi.

Lexi and Sean walked into third period together, as they both had architecture. "So," began Sean partway through the period, "you interested in becoming an architect?"

"Maybe. I do love buildings. They're amazing. All the facades and ornate decorations possible, and not to mention turrets. One day, I'm going to build my own house, among other things, and it's going to look like a princess castle and it will have at least two turrets, and I'll leave in the highest room of the tallest tower, only I don't need some Prince Charming to save me. I'll save everyone else."

"You sound just like my mom, Annabeth. She's great. You two would get along so well. She always dreamed of becoming an architect. Her dream began early, since she was the one chosen to redesign Oly - uh... I mean, since she got to redesign a city after winning a contest." Lexi was nearly positive that was not what he had been about to say, but she let it go.

"She does sound great. I'd love to meet her sometime. Does she live near here?"

"No, my parents live in Florida."

"So, then, why are you here with your aunt and uncle instead of with your parents?" Lexi pressed.

"I was... it's complicated and I'd rather not get into the details right now," answered Sean, trailing off at the end.

"Okay, so what does your dad do?"

"My dad, Percy, he's a marine biologist."

"That sounds interesting."

"I suppose."

"Well, what do you want to do then?" inquired Lexi.

"I want to save the world from ruin. Now let's get to work. I don't want to get behind on the first day." They spent the remainder of the period quietly working and walked to their fourth period health classroom in quiet as well. Health was required for all students to take at some point in their four years in high school, and most took it as freshman in order to get it over with.

After listening tithe teacher talk for about five minutes, Lexi knew this class would be a joke, so she turned to talk to Sean instead. "So, do you have any siblings," she asked cautiously, afraid he would get short with her again.

Luckily, this wasn't the case, "Yes, I have an older sister named Brynn, she's 16, and younger, twin sisters named Lyra and Elyse, they're 10."

"Wow, you live in a house full of girls."

"Yeah, I guess I do," chuckled Sean, "They're not bad, though, I love my sisters. You remind me a lot of Lyra."

"How so?" inquired Lexi.

"You're both nosy know-it-alls," accused Sean, earning him a quick punch to the shoulder.

"I am not!"

"Are too." Lexi glared at him. "Do you have any siblings? How long have you lived here?" asked Sean, trying to change the subject.

"I have an older sister named Courtney and an older brother named Tyler. I'm not very close with either of them. I've lived here since I was three, when my stepfather moved us here from Los Angeles back in California," explained Lexi. She felt something in Sean's demeanor change, as if something she had said had put him on the alert.

"You were born in Los Angeles. When's your birthday?" asked Sean slowly.

"March 25. Why?" asked Lexi just as cautiously. Sean's eyes widened, but quickly he regained his composure and began to study her, never answering her question. This made Lexi uncomfortable, as she felt as if he knew something and was keeping it from her, and that she was now at a disadvantage. The rest of the period was spent uncomfortably on Lexi's part, and she was grateful when the bell ran, signaling first lunch, which went much the same as break, then, the beginning of her fifth period beginner's French class, and the only class of hers that Sean was not in.

And, fortunately for Lexi, both Reyna and Jaedon were in French fifth period too. "So," Lexi began as soon as they sat down, "what do you guys think of Carmody's cousin, Sean?"

"He seems nice enough, even if it is a tad strange that he moved here without the rest of his family. I don't have any classes with him, though, so I haven't really talked to him much," explained Reyna. Lexi then took this opportunity to explain her encounters with Sean throughout the day, how she had nearly every period with him, and his sometimes strange behavior.

"I knew there was something off about him! I bet he came here to try to woo all the girls into falling for him. It's already started working. You haven't fallen for him have you, Lex?" Jaedon asked worriedly. And after a second thought, "You either, Sis?"

"No, of course not. I mean, he's cute, and nice, and funny, but he's a little odd. I don't think he's my type, but I've definitely noticed tons of girls talking about him," explained Lexi.

"If you're backing off, then can I go for him?" asked Reyna excitedly. Jaedon face-palmed, but unknown to either Lexi or Reyna, he was secretly thrilled that Lexi had said she wasn't interested in Sean, as he figured this was his only threat at the moment. Finally, the bell rang for sixth period, which was physics with Sean for Lexi. Throughout the period, an awkward tension persisted between the two, and neither spoke. Eventually, the final bell rang, and Lexi was on her way walking home with a crowd of other teens. When Lexi got home, no one was there, so she decided to take the opportunity to do what Silas had suggested and practice using her newly received powers in private. She felt stupid trying to make things appear using witch powers, though. "Milkshake." Nothing. "May I please have a milkshake?" Nothing. "Milkshake appear," she commanded, but still nothing happened. Finally, Lexi concentrated on her desire rather than speaking it aloud, and a milkshake appeared out of nowhere. Through practice, Lexi was also able to make her dresser drawers open and close, and objects to fly around the room. She could even magic the clothes on herself. She then decided to see if her powers could be used for harm, causing her to point her finger at an old stuffed animal on the floor and will the stuffed animal to be zapped. Red lightning exploded from her finger and zapped the stuffed animal into obliteration. Lexi looked at her finger in awe; she had not known that she could possess this much power.


	5. Chapter 5

The remainder of first semester went mostly the same as Lexi's first day of school: she talked with her friends; she got to know Sean better; she continued to be best friends with Jaedon and Reyna and be oblivious to Jaedon's affections; and she practiced her magic every day after school. Second semester, though, was when everything changed. The first day of second semester, Lexi was walking along the grassy quad near the trees at school when she heard a familiar voice. Peeking around one of the trees, Lexi saw Sean speaking to a spray of water from the sprinklers. The spray wasn't just a spray, though, as voices were emanating from it. "You've been there for half of a year and you still haven't found her," yelled a man's voice angrily.

"I'm working on it. I found a girl who was born in Los Angeles on March 25, but she doesn't have kaleidoscope eyes and she doesn't seem very godly or magical either. Aside from that, I have no clues as to who it could be. And I can't just go around asking kids if they're demigods. That's insane!" retorted Sean.

"My children have been searching through prophecies and inducing themselves in order to have visions that might give us her location or appearance or anything at all, and, like I told you before, they have only seen that she has kaleidoscope eyes just like Piper," stated another man.

"Well, as I said already, I haven't seen any girls with kaleidoscope eyes! And before you start up again, I know she's here; I can feel it," replied Sean.

"Leave my boy alone. He's doing his best to find Kaila and bring her home. He'll find her soon enough now let him be so he can get back to school and continue searching," interrupted a woman.

"Thank you, Lady Aphrodite. Your confidence in me is much appreciated," said Sean.

"Anything for my Alec," replied the woman, Lady Aphrodite. And with that, Sean swiped his hand through the spray and the voices stopped. Lexi's thoughts flew as she tried to process what had just occurred. Sean was searching for her, the girl with the kaleidoscope eyes. The woman had referred to the girl as Kaila though. Sean had also said he couldn't just ask people if they were demigods, and he had referred to the woman as Lady Aphrodite, like the Greek goddess Aphrodite. That would mean that Silas was right, then, as Sean seemed to be searching for a girl with kaleidoscope eyes whose real name was Kaila and who was a Greek demigod, but who was lost and could not be located. Lexi was still trying to process all of this from her position leaning against the tree when Sean appeared in front of her, "What are you doing here?" he asked cautiously.

"I heard your voice and I was wondering what you were doing. Who were those people? Why are you looking for that Kaila girl?" asked Lexi.

"You could hear them?!" asked Sean incredulously, then, muttering to himself, "I thought the Mist covered that, unless she is one, then she could help find Kaila..."

"Umm, Sean? I'm still here," reminded Lexi.

"Right. Of course. If you want to know more about what just happened maybe we could meet at your place after school?" asked Sean.

Lexi, still confused, replied slowly, "Sure...uhh...yeah that sounds great".

The two teens walked home together after school. Lexi's house was usually unoccupied when she arrived home, but today she was surprised to come home to find Lit in the kitchen. "Oh, hi Lit. Sean, this is my stepfather, Lit. Lit, this is my friend, Sean."

The two shook hands, and Lit smirked. "I knew demigods would someday come in. I have had a decent killing in so long. Welcome, son of the many. May you die well." Lit transformed into a fiercer looking version of himself and pulled out a sword that obviously wasn't steel.

Sean stepped in front of Lexi, "Lityerses, what are you doing here? Who sent you?"

"Hahaha," roared Lityerses, "You think I was commanded here? I heard there would be a demigod feast here eventually, and look, more and more continue to move in. Ha, curse their obtuse minds, for I shall kill them all. The last ones thought they were brilliant for turning me into gold, but now I have risen again, and I shall exterminate the demigod population once and for all!" And with that, he attacked. Sean pushed Lexi to the side and pulled out a sword of similar material to Lit's sword just in time to block Lit's attack. They swung and parried for few minutes, until Sean made the mistake of glancing to the side to assure Lexi was still alright and unharmed. Lit took this opportunity to smack Sean's sword out of his hands and cause it to fly too far away for him to retrieve with Lit in the way. Lit laughed menacingly as he walked closer to an unarmed Sean, "You will be the first to die, as an offering of my intentions. Their favorite, their protector of man, their most powerful demigod so quickly reduced to death."

"No!" shouted Lexi from across the room as she concentrated on using her witch powers to send a force that pushed Lit off of his feet and sent him flying through the kitchen table. Unfortunately, it didn't kill him, but only increased his anger. Lexi prepared herself to do more, but suddenly, lightning was striking and the plants were growing out of control and water was rising from the sink. Lexi looked at Sean awestruck; he was doing all of this without even a sword! She watched as first a large bolt of lightning struck Lit, then the plants grew to entangle him into a position where he could not move, and finally, the water splashed over Lit's body, solidifying and forming an ice case that surrounded him, effectively causing Lit to be helpless without killing him. Lexi continued to stare at Sean amazed, "That was awesome! How'd you do that?"

Sean staggered away from where he had been standing and collapsed onto one of the kitchen chairs, with Lit's frozen figure placed on the floor. "I'm a demigod, the demigod; it's what I do," he explained, "But as for you, what was that you did?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story, but I'm a witch and a vampire, and it looked like you were in trouble so I used my witch powers to send him flying and hopefully to knock him unconscious," Lexi replied.

"So you're not a demigod?" inquired Sean.

"Nope," answered Lexi, rubbing her eye. Some dirt must have gotten stuck in it in the fight because it really hurt. "Sean, I'm going to go rinse out my contact lens, I think something got in it during the fight."

"Oh okay, do you have really bad vision?" he asked.

"No, I just wear them because kids used to make fun of my eye color," she replied nonchalantly. "What color are your eyes?" Halfway down the hall already, Lexi stopped, remembering, too late, Silas' warning and that Sean was looking for a certain kaleidoscope eyed girl. She felt her heart beat speed up; what should she do? She couldn't tell him, but she had to say something. Or run. If it came down to a fight, Lexi would lose for sure, so, after mumbling "uh's" a few times, Lexi shouted, "Gotta go!" and sprinted back down the hallway and out the front door, past Silas' house as she couldn't bear to have them find out he knew and kill him just like his wife, down to the her street corner, up the next street, turning onto one more street, running to the very end of the cul-de-sac and straight into Jaedon and Reyna's house, slamming the door behind her. Their family looked up the kitchen table where they were eating dinner.

"Uh, hey, Lexi, glad you could join us for dinner finally. What took you so long?" Jaedon saved her by asking.

"Sorry, I just got preoccupied and forgot the time. Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Valdez, I'm sorry if it seems my entrance was abrupt and unannounced. I hope Jaedon remembered to ask if I could join your family for dinner tonight," continued Lexi.

"Oh, of course, dear," Rachel Valdez lied, "Leo and I were just finishing up to go to a movie. See you kids later."

And with that, RED and Leo were gone and Jaedon hissed, "Lexi, what the hell was that? Why'd you just run in here and slam the door?"

"Well, you see, Sean is not actually here for school at all, but rather on a mission for some group, a mission to find a certain kaleidoscope eyed girl and bring her back, and I really have no intention of being brought to those people, so I ran away and came here. I'm positive he doesn't know where I am," Lexi hurriedly explained. "So some psychopath is following you and you came here? Great," muttered Reyna sarcastically. Lexi knew Reyna wasn't being spiteful; she just got bitterly sarcastic when she was unable to protect others.

"Don't worry, darlings, my Alec isn't a psychopath, but rather doing his duty. You're perfectly safe with him, Lexi, if that is your real name. I am beauty. I can see through those lenses which others cannot. We just want to help you; you're our child," reassured a sweet voice that grew louder and more perfumed as a shockingly beautiful woman emerged around the corner of the kitchen. She was the prettiest woman Lexi had ever seen, but she couldn't quite decide exactly what this mystery lady looked like, as her features seemed to be continually changing. Recognizing the woman's voice, Lexi concentrated on where she had heard it before, before remembering that it had been one of the voices she had heard from behind the tree eavesdropping on Sean at school. This woman, then, was his "Lady Aphrodite". No wonder the woman was so beautiful; she was the Greek goddess of love and beauty! If Aphrodite was here, then Sean would be close behind. According to suspicion, Sean appeared in the kitchen with them.

"You lied to me. You betrayed me," he accused.

"Actually, I do believe you're jumping to conclusions. See, I heard the conversation about the girl with kaleidoscope eyes but you never actually asked me anything. So, no, I didn't tell you, but I didn't lie to you either. I just withheld informa- Hi there, Mr. and Mrs. Valdez. You're back so soon?" Lexi changed topics as the parents entered the house, staring at Aphrodite and Sean.

Their entrance temporarily distracted Sean, who said, "Valdez...where have I heard that before? The Latino Santa's elf that my parents talk about! And you must be Rachel Elizabeth Dare," he continued, turning to Rachel, "Oracle of Apollo until you and Leo ran off together and disappeared for over fourteen years now. I know all the stories."

Leo and Rachel, both frightened, glanced at each other. "Who is this? How did he find us?" whispered Leo.

"Can't you tell? Look at his raven black hair, his turquoise eyes that storm like the ocean even though his mother's grey is in them as well. He looks like his father. Who else could he be besides Percy Jackson's son?" answered Rachel.

"Now that they found us how are we supposed to continue hiding?" whispered back Leo.

"Stop whispering! It's just rude. Now, we'll just be taking this girl off of your hands and then we shall be on our merry way," instructed Aphrodite.

"What makes you think I'm coming with you? Just because I have strange eyes doesn't mean I'm the girl you're looking for. I'm a mortal girl, and I'm going to stay here with my family and friends. If you want me to come with you, you'd better get ready to drag a dead corpse along all the way to the rest of your people, because there is no way in hell I'll ever come with you alive," asserted Lexi.

"We'll leave for now, petty girl, but trust me, you'll regret refusing to come with us. You shouldn't insult love, dear. You never know how it might bite you back." And with that, both Aphrodite and Sean disappeared in puffs of pink, perfumed smoke.

When Lexi turned to the others, she was surprised to see Rachel glaring at her. "Who are you? How could you do that? You just compromised us and exposed our location to all the gods and demigods and monsters of the world! We've been off the grid for over fourteen years now; we've raised our children to be normal humans; and now you had to come along and throw all of that away. I just wanted our family to be safe," Rachel finished sadly.

"I'm so sorry; I didn't know. Really, I didn't. I'm totally lost in this whole business. People keep pushing this Greek mythology world on me and I just want to be a normal girl like I've always been. I didn't mean to cause you any harm, but I had nowhere else to go. My presence has already hurt Silas too much. I couldn't bear to see him die too. I thought they wouldn't find me here maybe, but I was wrong and I'm sorry," Lexi apologized.

Leo blinked at her, and glanced over all the people in the kitchen before saying, "RED, maybe this is a sign. Maybe the Fates planned it this way so that we would have a way to come back. Maybe we're needed again. We can't hide forever, and Jaedon and Reyna have a right to know what's going on. Plus, we could see our old friends again."

"Were Nico and Clarisse your friends? Because they live in this city too," mused Lexi, "Anyways, I'd better be getting home. I'm sorry again for ruining what you had here, Rachel."

As Lexi walked out the front door, Rachel followed her. "Lexi, you seem like a nice, bright young girl, and I know you were trying to stand up for yourself in there, but it's not wise to mess with the gods. They're the good guys, but sometimes their morals are a little skewed. I just want you to know, that when Aphrodite threatened you, she was serious. I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but expect something terrible to happen regarding love. Good luck, darling." "Thanks."

Sean didn't come to school the next Monday, or any days following. Lexi wondered if she'd ever see him again, then remembered she didn't care. He cared nothing for people, but only the mission he was assigned. School went on as usual as if Sean had never existed. Carmody and Jared's family moved, while Jaedon and Reyna's family was still deciding what to do. Ice Lit disappeared along with Sean, and a letter stating that Lit had fallen ill and died on one of his business trips was left at their door. At least all of his money was left to her mother, so she wouldn't have to remarry again in order to support her children, especially with Courtney now in college and Tyler about to go off to college next year. Then Lexi would be the only one still at home.

The days blurred together until it was March 16, a week before Lexi's birthday, and the day that her entire family, from all regions of the United States, would be traveling to Florida and spending a family vacation at Disneyworld for a week. Lexi had finished packing the night before, and had gone to say goodbye to Jaedon and Reyna. They had wished her well and told her they would celebrate her birthday when she returned, but as Lexi walked out the door to return to her own house, Jaedon stopped her, hugging her tightly. Lexi laughed, "Jaedon, I'll be home in a week. No need to hold me in a death grip."

"That's the thing, though, Lexi; I have a feeling that I won't see you for a long time. I have a feeling you won't be coming back home. And if I had to bet on it, I'd say it'll be because of Sean and those gods. Watch your back out there, Lex," Jaedon warned.

Lexi smiled weakly, "Don't worry; I'll be back; you'll see. Don't you remember o'hana? No one gets left behind or forgotten. I'll come back for you," assured Lexi.

"Promise?"

"Promise," confirmed Lexi.

As she turned to walk away, Jaedon quickly leaned down and kissed her. She looked at him curiously. "Uhh...for good luck?" he said in response to her stare. Lexi nodded and continued on her way home, turning back to see his reddish brown hair illuminate like a blazing fire in front of the glow of the rapidly rising sun and eventually disappear for what she thought would only be a week.


	6. Chapter 6

*****Meanwhile on Mt. Olympus*****

"She's still not breathing!" "Check her pulse!" "Oh gods, Zeus better not have killed her!" Sean could hear the hurried movements and shouting from within the Mt. Olympus hospital that his mother, Annabeth, had designed for demigods following the Titan war when she was sixteen. He wasn't here to admire the building, though; he was here just outside of the room where Kaila was possibly dying. He had always been fond of Kaila; he had cared for her and had tried to help her develop her powers. Even when he found out she was only a mortal, he still cared for her and made time for her every day. Since he was little, he had told his parents, along with Aphrodite, that when he grew up he was going to marry Kaila. Now it was his fault that she was dying. He and Aphrodite had come back to Olympus without Lexi, and Zeus had been furious to know she had turned them down and had refused to come. His anger had reverberated throughout the room, and a mini thunderstorm had started, shooting out bolts of lightning, one of which struck Kaila straight-on. For a demigod, this would cause only some pain, but for a mortal like Kaila, it could mean death. Now here he was, sitting just outside the door where they were frantically trying to keep her alive, or bring her back to life. Next time he saw Lexi, she'd be in for it. It was her fault that Kaila was dying. She had been selfish and had refused to come with then, not thinking of how much the world needed her. Lost in his thoughts, he was surprised to hear the door open and see one of the dryad nurses looking down at him pitifully. "Hun, we've done everything we could for her, but we just can't heal a mortal that far gone. She would have burned up if we had given her ambrosia. I'm sorry, but she's no longer with us." Sean just stared at the nurse silently, then nodded and began walking towards the hospital exit. Kaila was dead. He would never see her smiling face again. It was all Lexi's fault. Lexi. He thought the name angrily. Next time he saw her, she would pay for Kaila's death.

*****Back in Disneyworld*****

Today was March 23, Lexi's birthday, and her and her relatives were on a Disneyworld bus headed back to their resort for their last night before heading back to their individual states and homes the next morning. They had saved the Magic Kingdom for today, and had stayed until closing to view the fireworks. It was dark outside, considering it was 11pm, and in approximately ten minutes they would arrive at their hotel, but currently they were driving along a slightly windy road with no rails. Lexi was sitting in the far back of the bus with her three cousins closest to her in age: Morgan (girl), Aaron, and Noah. Her cousin Anna walked up to them and handed her baby daughter, Vanessa, or Nessie, of age 2, to Lexi since Anna had to use the restroom in the back of the bus. Right next to the restroom was the emergency exit. Lexi cuddled Nessie and held her in her lap. That's when the first hit came. The mountain and the ground beneath the car began to shake, what little light from the moon that had shone through had now disappeared, and lightning began to strike around them. It was if a storm had developed out of nowhere. The road became more dangerous as a motorcyclist swerved into their lane, and the bus narrowly missed the motorcyclist and a jogger, who had been running in the median between the opposite lanes. Their bus was now hugging the edge of the cliff precariously closely, but the driver attempted to right this, until a swarm of various animals blocked their way, causing the bus to stop in its tracks. Among the animals, Lexi could see a peacock, an owl, a deer, a red cow, a dove, a leopard, and who knows what else. The animals gathered at the perimeter of their bus, denying them access to continue driving. But the storm raged on and the earthquake persisted, sending boulders rolling down the cliff straight for their bus. Screams arose from her relatives, but the bus was trapped, doomed as the boulders smacked into its side, pushing it, slowly, so very slowly past its tipping point and off of the cliff front first. The screaming intensified as the bus began its fall, it occupants knowing they were doomed for death. Lexi tried to use her witch powers to save the bus, but to no avail. When Jaedon had said he wouldn't see her, she hasn't thought he meant because she would die. Lexi closed her eyes, waiting quietly for the inevitable, when the emergency exit alarm began to beep. Lexi opened her eyes, wondering who would be stupid enough to attempt jumping, but instead saw Sean. Forgetting what had happened before, she grew excited, knowing he could save them. "Sean! Help us!" she cried. Sean stepped inside the falling bus and grabbed onto Lexi's hand. Her other arm was still holding Nessie tightly to her chest as Sean propelled them into the air. Lexi looked down; the bus full of her family was still falling to the rocky ground while Sean flew her away. Initially grateful to see him, she was now horrified: he had allowed her entire family to perish, and he didn't even look upset about it. She wanted to get down, to get as far away as possible from this monster. Lexi began to kick and thrash around, interfering with Sean's flying. She wasn't even impressed with his powers anymore. They began to lose altitude, descending towards what seemed to be a meadow. Lexi waited until they were a safe distance from the ground and began to thrash around more, caused them to crash onto the green meadow, which was, luckily for them, soft. "What the hell was that? I just saved your life and now you're kicking around trying to get yourself killed!" accused Sean.

"Saved my life? What about my family? You just killed them!"

"I didn't kill them, the gods did; I just didn't save them."

"And that's so much better? You're heartless, Sean. All you care about is your duty. You don't care about people. Just leave us alone," stated Lexi coldly.

"Us?"

"Yes, Nessie and myself. Us."

Sean looked down at the young girl in Lexi's arms, noticing her for the first time. "Uh...she's not supposed to be alive," said Sean quietly.

"Well she is and there's nothing you can do about it."

Sean sighed loudly, "Well, I'm supposed to take you to the gods right away, but they'll kill her for sure, so I suppose for now she can stay with my parents until something further is decided. See, I can have heart. Now grab my hand; I'm going to teleport us to my parent's house." Lexi sighed but grabbed his hand, still holding firmly onto Nessie. The trio disappeared from their place in the meadow, and stumbled into a kitchen in front of a very surprise family.

"Sean, what did I say about teleporting inside of the house? Aren't you going to introduce your friend?" asked a woman, presumably his mother.

"Mom, this is Lexi, and her relative Nessie," he added as an afterthought.

"So this is 'the' Lexi?" his mother, Annabeth, as Lexi recalled Sean say once, said absentmindedly.

"Am I supposed to know who she is?" asked the father.

"Percy, she's the one from the prophecy! I swear, sometimes I really think your brain is full of seaweed," admonished Annabeth.

"What prophecy would that be?" inquired Lexi.

"Nineteen years ago, the Oracle at the time uttered the next Great Prophecy, causing the creation of the most powerful generation of demigods yet. The prophecy goes as follows:

_'Old heroes have had their chance, _

_Next generation comes to pass,_

_Twenty children of thirty strong,_

_Shall lead the others away from wrong,_

_Await the Titan rise once more, _

_Preparations must be made for war,_

_Though most powerful and ready stand, _

_Half-Bloods fail without a helping hand,_

_Chosen one and protectors of man,_

_The gods' twins created for a plan,_

_Still Titans succeed lest all give in, _

_Lose morals and innocence to win,_

_Two lovers vying for one girl's heart,_

_Needed teamwork is hard on a rival's part_

_Old heroes lost to sacrifice and death, _

_An oath broken with a friend's final breath,_

_A losing battle, on the twins' day,_

_One choice can make it all go away, _

_Hatred and sadness cloud Chosen One's soul, _

_Fate of the world decided by her role.'_"

The room was silent as Lexi mulled over the prophecy. "So, how do I fit in to all of this?" "You're one of the gods' twins. The gods created both you and Sean with the essence of each of them within you, then placed your life forces within myself and within another woman named Piper, who is your mother, Lexi. You two were born on the same day, at the same time, creating the idea of twins. You two are the most powerful demigods ever created, and it's your job to lead the other demigods in the war against the Titans, along with leading the search for the so-called 'Chosen One'. You two are going to save the world," informed Annabeth.

"This sounds like an awful lot of work for just two people," commented Lexi.

"You'll have help. A lot of it," assured Annabeth.

"How can you be sure I'm the girl you speak of?"

"You have Piper's eyes. Lit positioned himself in your family. And the satyr that lives next door to you said he would do anything to keep you alive-"

"Silas? What did they do to him? He better not be hurt! He's already lost too much because of me-"

"Lexi, calm down; he's perfectly fine. Sean just went to talk to him," assured Annabeth.

"Well sorry I assumed the worst since Sean seems to be on a killing streak today," accused Lexi.

"Lex, I had to. I had no choice; I'm required to follow orders. I let the baby live; isn't that enough?"

"How could the saving of one life possibly be enough to offset the loss of fifty others? And don't call me Lex, only close friends receive that opportunity," spat Lexi.

"Why don't you just take a minute to cool off? It's my birthday too, you know," said Sean frowning.

"I don't care that it's your birthday. I don't care that it's my birthday. I care that you helped to cause the death of many innocent people, and for what purpose? To hurt me as revenge?"

"Lexi, I'm sorry. I'm bound to the gods; I have to follow their orders. They're the ones that killed your family, not me. I wish they could have talked to you instead of merely trying to break our will by killing those close to you. I'm sorry that Nessie is your only living relative left, but I promise that she will stay alive. I won't let them kill her, but in order to me to keep my promise, you're going to have to humor the gods some, because if they come for her, I'm not powerful enough to hold them off. Plus, if you go talk to the gods I'll teach you how to you use your powers so that you can protect yourself in a fight or save others and protect Nessie. I'm not asking you to join up with them, but just to listen to them and talk with them. Please? Don't let them continue the destruction; they'll target your friends next."

"Fine, we have a deal, Sean," stated Lexi, holding out her hand. They shook hands to confirm their deal.

"Alright, so let's go talk to the gods," said Sean, grabbing onto Lexi's hand and transporting them to New York, right in front of the Empire State Building.

"So this is where Mt. Olympus is located?"

"Yes, ma'am, at the very top of the building on the 600th floor," replied Sean. The two walked inside and Sean spoke with the man at the lobby desk, "Hey Al, how's it going?"

"Sean! It sure is great to see you, boy. I suppose you have the usual request?"

"Yes, sir, the 600th floor please."

"You got it. You better take care of your lady friend now, you hear, son?" said the man, Al, while hanging a key to Sean.

"I will, sir, I always do," replied Sean, ushering Lexi into an empty elevator.

"There aren't 600 floors in the building," thought Lexi aloud.

"Not for mortals, but for awesome people like us there are," replied Sean jokingly as he fit the key into a slot in the elevator, sending the car shooting upwards.

"So what are they like?" asked Lexi fearfully.

"They're not so bad; you'll see when we get there."

"Is there anyone I should watch out for?" Lexi continued.

"Zeus can get pretty scary sometimes. And Dionysus doesn't like anyone. Some gods like or dislike me, but that doesn't go for everyone so I'm not sure who you'll need to watch out for." "Who doesn't like you?" asked Lexi.

"Athena, even though she's technically my grandmother as well. Demeter and Persephone because I don't care enough about flowers and gardening. Surprisingly, Artemis actually thinks quite highly of me for disliking boys so much. Zeus likes me. Hera likes me since I'm not from one of Zeus' affairs with a mortal. Apollo and I aren't too friendly, though I've never really been sure why. Hephaestus doesn't think I'm inventive enough, but I am strong and good at metalworking so we get along well enough. Aphrodite and Ares both really like me and are always checking up on me. The wind gods think I'm too predictable, Hestia says I'm too prideful, and Athena says I'm loyal to my duty to a fault. But anyway, we're here now," said Sean as the elevator clicked. The two teens exited the elevator and stepped into Olympus, Lexi marveling at the sights and buildings with both Greek and Roman architecture, busts of the deities, and beautiful gardens. She couldn't believe that Annabeth had designed all of this. It was amazing. But eventually all good things come to an end, as did the sightseeing of Olympus, as they were now standing in front of the doors to enter the throne room of the gods. Lexi gulped, but quickly hid her fear as the doors began to open and the duo entered the room of ten foot tall gods and goddesses.

"So this is the little squirt that has been hiding from us for all this time? I imagined you scarier," joked one of the gods.

"Well I'm not. I'm just a regular girl; nothing scary here. And I haven't been hiding, I was just never found. How could I have been intentionally hiding when I had no idea who I was in the first place?" questioned Lexi.

"I like her; she seems smart," stated a goddess, most likely Athena, especially considering her stormy grey eyes which resembled Annabeth's eyes.

"And so not into love and beauty," whined Aphrodite, the one deity Lexi definitely recognized and most definitely did not want to recognize.

"She looks puny and weak. Can she even fight?" stated another god, probably Ares.

"She probably can't even lift a hammer," complained a deformed looking god, obviously Hephaestus.

"Doesn't seem like much of a partier either," complained yet another god.

Lexi was starting to get mad; how dare they sit here and mock her as if she weren't even there! "Look, I didn't come here to be made fun of by a bunch of oversized people. Now let's get down to business or I'll just be on my merry way," instructed Lexi.

The room grew dark with clouds and shook with thunder, "You do not tell us what to do. We are immortal, and behavior such as yours that challenges our authority will be met with incineration. Take this as your warning," stormed Zeus.

"Well from what I've heard, I'm pretty darn important. I'm not sure that it would be wise to incinerate one of the two most powerful demigods ever, especially as the Titans grow ever stronger," contested Lexi.

"Again you undermine my authority. I have other ways to punish you without incineration. I could kill your family," threatened Zeus.

"Really? Because you already did and, might I say, I really didn't appreciate such a gesture. It was quite the rude introduction. But alas, this is why we are gathered here today, so that we may talk of mythology and this prophecy, so let us put this talk of threats behind us, shall we?" finished Lexi sweetly.

Everyone in the room began to nod in agreement, including Zeus, while Aphrodite gushed, "That was amazing charmspeak! You're a natural! You must take after me."

"Yay, I'm so glad to take after my favorite goddess," said Lexi sarcastically, earning a smirk from a few of the deities.

"Well, to get you up to speed," began Athena, "the Titans are rising again, but this time we fear they may be more powerful than ever before, causing us to take measures against this rise in power according to the prophecy that was issued nearly twenty years ago. It seems that you have heard the lines of the prophecy from my daughter, Annabeth, so I will not waste time repeating them to you. So, considering the words of the prophecy, we have created a new and very powerful generation of demigods, along with you and Sean, who are the twins described in the prophecy. But, unfortunately, we do not yet know who the Chosen One is, nor who the twenty children are."

"It sure sounds like you've got a lot to figure out before this prophecy comes about."

"It sure sounds like we've got a lot to figure out, as in you included," continued Athena, "but now the question remains: are you really committed to our side, to helping us battle against the evil forces of the Titans? Are you really up to the challenge? We don't know that yet, and that's why you must train in our facilities and prepare yourself for whatever the future shall bring. You must be as strong and skilled as possible in order to defeat the Titans for good and prevent the world from falling into evil."

"Since when did I accept your offer? I sure as hell never said I was working for you, because I'm not sure 'your side' is really all that good and pure anyway, considering the havoc you've wreaked in my life, but I'm also not working against you. So that puts me as being on your side so long as it suits my needs, and though my needs are to train, my needs are also to continue my more traditional schooling as well, so perhaps we could work out some private training sessions in the evening. Now I know you're going to say it's unwise to keep me since I'm an unreliable pawn, and Zeus is going to command that you all incinerate me, but although it is true that I have not pledged myself to your side, I do promise that I won't pledge myself to the Titan side. I follow my own orders and rules, and you're just going to have to trust my word that I'm not against you. I'll continue to attend my school, and in the evenings Sean can help me with training. That's the best I can offer, so do we have a deal?"

The gods began to look at each other and murmur until Athena took charge," Fine, we shall have a deal, but if we find you do indeed go back on your word, we shall not hesitate to dispose of you."

"I understand, and I wouldn't ask for it any other way," finished Lexi.

"So be it," declared Zeus, wanting to feel as if he had organized the deal himself, "Now, return and train."


End file.
